Africa is a place filled with a rich history.But for many the Darker side of Africa history is fill with blood and war most of that history is from the cold war era to the pre 9/11. This I hope will show some light in the matters. And to give a better understanding about why they were fought.

If anyone wishes to help please do so this is a open forum which I hope many would help.

 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pC4V9i7Ya4Y 

The Liberian conflict

Liberia - Coup - 1980 In 1980 Tolbert's opponents, emboldened by a court decision recognizing them as an opposition party, openly called for his overthrow. Their leader, Gabriel B. Matthews, and a dozen others were arrested in March 1980.

On 12 April 1980, a bloody coup was staged by army personnel under the leadership of Master Sergeant Samuel K. Doe. Doe's forces executed President William R. Tolbert. More than a dozen officials of the previous regime, mostly of Americo-Liberian descent, were publicly executed. A People's Redemption Council (PRC), headed by Doe, subsequently suspended the constitution and assumed full legislative and executive powers. Americo-Liberian political domination ended with the formation of the People's Redemption Council. Master Sergeant Samuel K. Doe was a indigenous Liberian from the Krahn ethnic group. The top coup leaders were Master Sergeant Samuel K. Doe, who was announced head of State; Sergeant Thomas Weh-Syen, Vice Head of State; and Sergeant Thomas Quiwonkpa, "Strongman of the Revolution" as Commanding General of the Armed Forces of Liberia.

Political parties remained banned until 1984. Elections were held on 15 October 1985, in which Doe's National Democratic Party of Liberia (NDPL) was declared winner. The elections were characterized by widespread fraud and rigging. The period after the elections saw increased human rights abuses, corruption, and ethnic tensions.

Doe's government increasingly adopted an ethnic outlook, as members of his Krahn ethnic group soon dominated political and military life in Liberia. This caused a heightened level of ethnic tension leading to frequent hostilities between the politically and militarily dominant Krahns and other ethnic groups in the country. The Doe regime was an extraordinarily brutal one that not only disenfranchised many Liberians, it also effectively erased the boundaries between legitimate and illegitimate political action.


Liberia - Election and Coup Attempt - 1985 Thomas Quiwonkpa, a comrade of Samual K. Doe in the 1980 coup, fell out with Doe. Some analysts suggested that both the power struggle and the personal conflict between Doe and Quiwonkpa were rooted in the cultural and traditional differences between the Krahn and Dan/Mano ethnic groups. General Quiwonkpa and close allies Prince Johnson and Charles Taylor, fled the country in November 1983.

General Quiwonkpa went into exile to the United States, and many of his supporters, mainly, decommissioned security personnel, took refuge in neighboring Cote d'Ivoire where they began training to engage the Doe dictatorship. When the Gios and Manos of Nimba County - led by Jackson Doe and General Quiwonkpa -- ran into political conflict with the Krahn ethnic group -- led by the President Samuel K. Doe -- the conflict was quickly taken over by individuals in the United States who did not belong to these tribes.

Under pressure from the United States and other creditors, in July 1984 Doe's government issued a new constitution that allowed the return of political parties outlawed since 1980. The lifting of the ban on political activities on 26 July 1984 marked the beginning of a multi-party election campaign after more than four years of military rule in Liberia. Samuel Doe, the military Head of State, established a political party and presented his candidacy for the presidential elections. Doe's National Democratic Party of Liberia (NDPL) was a constituency composed of ethnic groups and individuals who were dependent on him, such as his own ethnic group [the Krahn] and the Mandingo people. Both groups were small and lacked political influence. Another component in his constituency was the Americo-Liberian minority, which had been ousted from power in the April 1980 coup.

The presidential election of 15 October 1985 featured five different political parties, with televised debates involving all five candidates. The 1985 election commission said President Doe got 51 percent of the vote, and the opposition shared the remaining 49 percent. But many observers charged that President Doe stole the 1985 presidential election. The elections were characterized by widespread fraud and rigging. There were a variety of objections and road blocks used by Mr. Doe's Party (through the Monthly and Probate Court of Montserrado County) to prevent and/or delay the registration of other political parties. Amos Sawyer, the leader of the Liberian People’s Party (LPP), who enjoyed great popularity because of his unwavering criticism of corruption and illegal actions, was prevented rom engaging in any political activities.

The period after the elections saw increased human rights abuses, corruption, and ethnic tensions. Some said that the resulting civil conflict was the reaction of the Liberian people to the rigging of the election. Some called for the United States to interve in Liberia to remove President Samuel Doe after he was elected.

On 12 November 1985, former Army Commanding Gen. Thomas Quiwonkpa invaded Liberia by way of neighboring Sierra Leone. Quiwonkpa almost succeeded in toppling the government of Samuel Doe. Members of the Krahn-dominated Armed Forces of Liberia repelled Quiwonkpa's attack and executed him in Monrovia. Edward Slanger, at the head of a group of AFL soldiers, claimed on television that they captured and killed Thomas Quiwonkpa. They paraded his body parts around Monrovia in a grisly ritual that Liberians will remember for years. Others were put on trial, and many were summarily executed. When the Gio general was killed in the abortive coup, little was heard from his sponsors. Doe's government launched a bloody purge against the Gio and Mano ethnic groups in Quiwonkpa's Nimba County, raising alarm about a genocide against the Gio and Mano. Taylor, who was related by marriage to Quiwonkpa, benefitted from the alienation of the Nimba population, which later became willing recruits to his cause. Mano-Gio perceptions of the Mandingo alliance with the Doe regime put Mandingos in the category of the enemy at the time of the attempted 1985 coup. After the failed coup attempt, the Mandingos were accused of complicity in the anti-Mano/Gio witch hunting. The Mandingos did not accepted responsibility for the perceived persecution of the Mano and Gio people during Doe's regime.

The ruling National Democratic Party of Liberia captured 73 out of 90 seats in the National Assembly election of 15 October 1985, but some opposition members refused to occupy their seats. The remaining opposition members were expelled from their parties in 1986. All of the vacant seats were captured by the NDPL in the partial election in December 1986. Consequently, the National Assembly was without opposition in the end of 1986.

American aid spending on sub-Saharan Africa were at high levels through the mid-1980s due to the global competition with the Soviet Union. As the competition with the Soviet Union began to fade, and as efforts to reduce the US budget deficit intensified, there were overall reductions in assistance to the region. Policymakers increasingly focused on human rights and economic reform performance in making decisions on aid allocations. Aid to some African countries that had been major Cold War aid recipients -- notably Zaire (now the Democratic Republic of the Congo) and Liberia, was sharply reduced. The reductions took place almost entirely within the security-oriented programs: military assistance and especially the Economic Support Fund (ESF).

Liberia - First Civil War - 1989-1996

1989

Nine year rule of President Samuel Doe under increasing strain after severe economic mismanagement and a cutoff of US aid narrow and weaken his personal patronage systems. Brutal repression further alienates the general population, especially northerners of the Gio and Mano ethnic groups. NPFL invades.

December

A few hundred National Patriotic Front of Liberia (NPFL) fighters, mainly Gio and Mano, launch an incursion from Cote d'Ivoire into Nimba County, northern Liberia. Led by Charles Taylor, the NPFL aim to overthrow President Samuel Doe. They are broadly supported in this by Cote d'Ivoire and Burkina Faso, both of whose leaders nurse family feuds with Doe.

1990

Bloody civil war escalates. Civic groups cede lead role in peace process to ECOWAS. ECOMOG, a regional peacekeeping force dominated by Nigeria, secures Monrovia and prevents early victory of NPFL. Civilian interim government installed and ceasefire established, but little evidence of commitment from main faction leaders.

January-June

After ruthless counter-insurgency measures by the Armed Forces of Liberia (AFL), vicious, inter-ethnic war breaks out. NPFL extends de facto control to most of the country, apart from the capital, Monrovia. Appalling human rights abuses on all sides. UN agencies evacuate Liberia. ECOWAS heads of state in Banjul, The Gambia establish a Standing Mediation Committee (SMC) to monitor developments. Liberian Inter-Faith Mediation Committee (IFMC) initiates peace talks in the US Embassy in Freetown, Sierra Leone.

July

NPFL splits. Breakaway Independent National Patriotic Front of Liberia (INPFL) captures strategic points in Monrovia. AFL massacre 600 displaced persons, including many Gio and Mano, sheltering in a Lutheran church in the city. Despite intense diplomatic activity, Taylor demands removal of Doe as condition for further talks. Peace efforts of IFMC flounder.

August

SMC adopts IFMC prescriptions as the first ECOWAS Peace Plan. Creates a regional peacekeeping force, the ECOWAS Ceasefire Monitoring Group (ECOMOG). Headed by a Ghanaian General, ECOMOG comprises some 4,000 troops, mostly Nigerian, but also from Ghana, Sierra Leone, The Gambia, Togo and Guinea. Substantial resistance to ECOMOG deployment from Cote d'Ivoire and Burkina Faso. The SMC also convenes a national conference of Liberian political and civic groups to help resolve the crisis. NPFL refuses to attend. In their absence, Dr. Amos Sawyer, leader of the Liberian People's Party (LPP), is elected head of an Interim Government of National Unity (IGNU). IGNU to exercise sovereignty over Liberia, with ECOMOG protection.

September

ECOMOG engages NPFL in Monrovia and prevents it from seizing power. Foreign nationals and diplomatic staff evacuated by US naval force. Around one third of Liberian population are refugees in Cote d'Ivoire, Guinea and Sierra Leone, with many more internally displaced.

President Doe abducted, tortured and killed by INPFL leadership en route to ECOWAS headquarters in Monrovia. Nigerians assume command of ECOMOG. Ivorian and Burkinabe backers of the NPFL more receptive to a diplomatic solution. Further efforts by US State Department to involve Taylor in a negotiated settlement.

October

ECOMOG establishes control over Monrovia, with some support from AFL and INPFL fighters. The latter factions agree to observe a ceasefire.

November

Bamako Ceasefire signed between AFL, INPFL and NPFL following an extraordinary session of ECOWAS heads of states. IGNU formally installed. UN estimates 150,000 dead and 500,000 displaced in war. UN agencies return to Monrovia.

December

Banjul Agreement between the AFL, INPFL and the NPFL to convene a national conference in 60 days to reconstitute and consolidate IGNU with representatives from all factions.

1991

Effective partition of Liberia. War spills over into Sierra Leone. Emergence of ULIMO. Cote d'Ivoire assumes leadership of ECOWAS diplomatic process, with ambiguous support from Nigeria. Reluctant NPFL pressured into series of tenuous peace accords.

January

UN Security Council backs ceasefire. NPFL establishing their National Patriotic Reconstruction Assembly Government (NPRAG) in Gbarnga.

February

Signing of Lome agreement which specifies the modalities for ECOMOG monitoring of ceasefire implementation. Disarmament deferred until after reconstitution of IGNU.

March

All-Liberia National Conference fails to take the peace process forward, as Taylor's presidential plans are thwarted and NPFL resorts to wrecking tactics. INPFL leadership irrevocably split over degree of collaboration with IGNU, ECOMOG and NPFL. First raids into diamond-rich border areas of Sierra Leone by NPFL-backed Revolutionary United Front (RUF). Refugee flows from Sierra Leone into Liberia and Guinea.

April-September

United Liberation Movement of Liberia for Democracy (ULIMO) formed in Guinea and Sierra Leone by ex-AFL fighters and Krahn and Mandingo supporters of the late President Doe. ULIMO forces enter western Liberia from Sierra Leone to attack NPFL

Reconciliation in Yamoussoukro, Cote d'Ivoire between Sawyer and Taylor, brokered by President Houphouet-Boigny, with the involvement of the International Negotiations Network (INN) of former US President Jimmy Carter. ECOWAS `Committee of Five' established, comprising heads of state of Cote d'Ivoire, The Gambia, Guinea Bissau, Senegal and Togo. Committee to steer diplomatic negotiations together with the INN. First three Yamoussoukro agreements signed.

October-December

Increasingly isolated NPFL pressured into signing of Yamoussoukro IV accord, providing for the disarmament and encampment of factions, for the handover of all territory to ECOMOG control, and for elections to be conducted under ECOWAS supervision. ULIMO not party to the Yamoussoukro process and hence not bound by its provisions. NPFL wary of disarming to ECOMOG, especially amid persistent rumours of ECOMOG-ULIMO alignment. ECOMOG supplemented with Senegalese troops.

1992

Suspicious of vacillating ECOWAS and under pressure from ULIMO, NPFL reneges on peace commitments, re-arms and launches attack on Monrovia. ECOMOG turns to openly partisan `peace enforcement' and repells attack. Ivorians draw back from diplomatic process.

January-April

Deployment of ECOMOG outside Monrovia. ULIMO gains in western Liberia. Sierra Leonean government toppled by under-paid and disgruntled army officers, but RUF insurgency continues.

May

In sporadic fighting, six Senegalese soldiers captured and executed by NPFL. ECOMOG forces withdrawn to Monrovia. UN Security Council launches appeal to factions to respect the Yamoussoukro Accord.

June-July

Amid continued ceasefire violations and NPFL arms purchases, ECOWAS gives Charles Taylor a 30-day ultimatum to disarm fighters and apply Yamoussoukro Accord or else face economic sanctions. NPFL refuses to disarm to ECOMOG, calling for neutral UN peacekeeping force. Internally divided and inconsistent in its approach to Taylor, ECOWAS invites the UN to verify and monitor the proposed election process.

August-September

ULIMO/NPFL fighting escalates. ULIMO seizes diamond mining centre of Tubmanburg. ECOMOG officers support ULIMO with arms, intelligence and uniforms.

October

200,000 internally displaced in Monrovia having fled from renewed fighting and NPFL harassment in the interior. INPFL finally disbands. Their patience waning, Cote d'Ivoire steers ECOWAS to renew threats of economic sanctions on NPFL areas. `Committee of nine' instituted to co-ordinate ECOWAS policy, comprising representatives of key states, both anglo- and francophone.

`Operation Octopus', an all-out assault on Monrovia, launched by the NPFL from the facilities of the Firestone rubber plantation near Harbel. ECOMOG abandons its peacekeeping stance for greater combatant role. Re-arms AFL and, openly allied with ULIMO, commences heavy bombing of NPFL-held areas. Former US President Jimmy Carter comments publicly on ECOMOG partiality.

November-December

Trevor Gordon-Somers appointed Special Representative of the UN Secretary-General (SRSG) in Liberia and commences discussions with regional leaders. UN Security Council imposes mandatory arms embargo on all factions. US Assistant Secretary of State Herman Cohen condemns non-neutrality of ECOMOG. Further flows of refugees into Guinea.

1993

Forceful ECOMOG offensive severely weakens NPFL without crushing it. Diplomatic process moves ahead with signing of landmark Cotonou Accord, which allows representatives of armed factions to join transitional government. Emergence of LPC.

January-March

Arms flows continue despite UN embargo. ECOMOG troops increased to 15,000, but Senegalese withdraw. ECOMOG, AFL and ULIMO achieve strategic military gains, including the port of Buchanan, the supply point of Kakata on the Monrovia- Gbarnga road, the Robertsfield Airport, and the Firestone rubber plantation at Harbel. NPFL's military and commercial interests severely undermined. First reports of substantial corruption and commercial adventurism by ECOMOG personnel. Security Council reiterates backing for ECOMOG and offers increased UN support to ailing peace process.

April-May

ECOMOG finally imposes economic sanctions on NPFL-held areas. Reportedly strafes cross-border convoy of relief agency, Medicins Sans Frontieres.

June

600 civilians, mainly displaced Liberians, killed in an armed attack on the Firestone plantation near Harbel. A panel of inquiry appointed by the UN Secretary General attributes the attack to units of the AFL. Nigerian elections held and annulled.

July

At the invitation of the UN, the Beninois Chairman of ECOWAS and the organization of African Unity (OAU), all the warring parties invited to Geneva for peace talks. Geneva Ceasefire signed between the NPFL, ULIMO and IGNU. Cotonou Accord formally signed between the same parties. This accord re- schedules disarmament and encampment, and provides for a tripartite Liberia National transitional government (LNTG). LNTG to replace IGNU once disarmament commences, headed by a five-man Council of State to be appointed from the signatory organizations and from lists of `prominent Liberians' drawn up by them. Council of state to operate by consensus and to determine the allocation of posts in the cabinet, in public corporations and autonomous government agencies. LNTG leaders ineligible to contest future presidential elections. Implementation of the Accord to be supervised and monitored by ECOMOG, with support of newly-formed United Nations Observer Mission In Liberia (UNOMIL). Nigerian dominance of ECOMOG to be reduced.

August

President Babangida of Nigeria resigns.

September

The mis-named Liberia Peace Council (LPC) emerges with support of AFL and engages the NPFL around rubber and timber exporting zones in south-eastern Liberia. Refugee flows to Cote d'Ivoire. UNOMIL established, the first UN peacekeeping operation undertaken in cooperation with a regional organization. ECOMOG has primary responsibility for ensuring implementation of Cotonou Accord, but UNOMIL authorized to monitor and verify the ceasefire, the arms embargo, and the encampment, disarmament and demobilization of combatants. International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) protests at UN support for embargo on NPFL-held areas.

October

Governments of Egypt, Tanzania, Uganda and Zimbabwe announce troop contribution to ECOMOG. Egypt and Zimbabwe later fail to meet their commitments due to financial constraints.

November

General Sani Abacha assumes Nigerian presidency. ECOWAS calls a consultative meeting of Cotonou signatories to determine allocation of LNTG posts.

December

President Houphouet-Boigny of Cote d'Ivoire dies. Emergence of NPFL-sponsored Lofa Defence Force (LDF) in Western Liberia. Two weeks of negotiations fail to decide the allocation of four remaining cabinet portfolios, or a date for the start of encampment, disarmament and demobilisation.

1994

Cotonou Accord eventually unravels, due to factional squabbles over composition of transitional government, the continued emergence of new armed groups, and the limited resources of peacekeepers. ECOWAS diplomatic process renewed under Ghanaian leadership, further accommodating the armed factions (especially NPFL) and increasing the militarization of Liberian politics. ULIMO splits.

January

UNOMIL reaches full strength. Arrival of East African ECOMOG battalions. Frequent ceasefire violations.

February

Signatories of the Cotonou Accord meet in Monrovia. Disarmament to begin on March 7th, after the installment of the LNTG. General elections scheduled for September 7th.

March-April

LNTG Council of State installed with IGNU's David Kpomakpor as chair. Transitional legislative assembly sworn in. Supreme Court opens for 1994 term. ECOMOG and UNOMIL troops commence deployment to monitor the disarmament process. Deployment stalled around Tubmanburg, where ULIMO fighters riot over LNTG composition, in border areas, where hostilities continue amid the proliferation of armed groups, and in the southeast, where skirmishes persist between NPFL and LPC fighters.

May

After internecine fighting around Tubmanburg, ULIMO effectively splits into Mandingo and Krahn factions. These are termed ULIMO-K and ULIMO-J, after their respective leaders, Alhaji Kromah and Roosevelt Johnson.

June-August

All factions experiencing command and control problems. ECOMOG not fully deployed and UNOMIL withdrawn from western region for security reasons. Informal talks between Taylor and incoming ECOWAS chair Jerry Rawlings.

Liberia National Conference (LNC) of civilian groups meets to deliberate on the peace process. Supports the Cotonou Accord but urges the maintenance of a strong civilian presence in the LNTG. Gambian government unseated by a military coup precipitated by pay disputes within its ECOMOG contingent.

September

Akosombo Agreement signed by the NPFL, ULIMO-K and AFL to augment the Cotonou Accord. Provides for an immediate ceasefire and the establishment of a reformed LNTG Council of State. Each of the three armed factions to delegate one council-man, with two civilians to be appointed, one by the LNC, and one jointly by the NPFL and ULIMO-K. Council decisions to be made on the basis of a simple majority. LNTG to collaborate with ECOMOG and UNOMIL in supervising and monitoring implementation of the accord. LNTG also empowered to begin the formation of national security structures and to build AFL as a national army with fighters from all factions. The bearing of arms in the capital is prohibited, although faction leaders are allowed to provide for their own personal security.

While Taylor is abroad, fighting is reported at NPFL headquarters. Gbarnga subsequently attacked by anti-NPFL forces, led by ULIMO-K. Fresh refugee influx into Guinea. NPFL fighters detain and terrorise UNOMIL and NGO personnel in north and east of country. UNOMIL evacuated to Monrovia and drastically reduced in size. Split in NPFL, leading to formation of NPFL-Central Revolutionary Council (CRC) under Tom Woewiyu and Sam Dokie, key members of NPFL command structure. Attempted coup against the LNTG, led by disaffected AFL General Charles Julu, is crushed by ECOMOG.

October-November

Elements of the LNTG, civilian political groups, churches and human rights agencies vigorously protest at the increasing militarization of Liberian politics. Anthony Nyakyi becomes the new UN SRSG to Liberia.

December

Accra Clarification signed by all factions, old and new, including both wings of ULIMO. Council of state to include representatives of the NPFL, ULIMO-K, and the LNC, together with paramount Chief Tamba Tailor (nominated by NPFL and ULIMO-K) and a joint representative of the AFL and the new signatories. Amid growing evidence of NPFL/ULIMO-K collaboration, deep divisions persist within the AFL and the `coalition' of LPC, ULIMO-J, LDF and NPFL-CRC. Nigeria wary of perceived NPFL ascendancy, but largely preoccupied with domestic problems.

1995

Regional accommodation of NPFL continues with rapprochement between Taylor and Nigerian President Abacha. Discontent and divisions spread among powerful Krahn factions. Abuja Accord draws all armed groups into transitional government, with Taylor and Kromah assuming prominent role.

January-July

ECOWAS Heads of State attend mini-summit on the formation of the Council of State. All warring factions accept a proposal to expand the number of council nominees from five to six in order that the AFL and the coalition forces can be represented separately.

US State Department condemns ECOMOG for systematic and large-scale looting and, along with the UN, cuts funding. Also encourages informal talks between Taylor and Nigerian President Abacha. These talks are sponsored by Rawlings and international NGOS.

Purges of disloyal lieutenants within NPFL. Factions continue sporadic warfare whilst jockeying for position within LNTG. Civilian LNTG leaders perceived as increasingly irrelevant.

August

Taylor's first trip to Nigeria. Signing of the Abuja Accord, which supplements all previous agreements. The accord establishes a new six-member Council of State, headed by writer Wilton Sankawulo. Taylor, Kromah and LPC's George Boley are appointed vice-chairmen of equal status, along with the LNC politician Oscar Quiah and Tamba Tailor. All members can contest proposed elections, provided they resign their post three months in advance. Only one council seat is allocated to the AFL/Coalition, but ULIMO-J is granted control of three ministries and a range of public corporations.

To fulfil its widened responsibilities, ECOMOG plans to increase its strength to 12,000, and to integrate Ivorian and Burkinabe troops as part of this expansion. Ugandan and Tanzanian troops withdraw from ECOMOG.

September

Faction leaders enter Monrovia with armed `protection'. New LNTG Council of State installed.

October

Several ceasefire violations reported. Internal tensions in all factions, notably ULIMO-J, on distribution of LNTG posts. ECOWAS receives renewed pledges of financial assistance from the international community.

November

UN Security Council provides for the expansion of the UNOMIL mandate, authorizing the deployment of additional troops to investigate all ceasefire violations, support humanitarian assistance activities, investigate and report human rights violations, and observe and verify the proposed election process. UN Secretary-General Boutros Boutros Ghali visits Monrovia to meet with the Council of State, after a summit in Ghana with Jerry Rawlings.

December

Violence erupts in Tubmanburg between ECOMOG and elements of ULIMO-J loyal to Roosevelt Johnson over disarmament and control of diamond mines. ECOMOG personnel killed, kidnapped and wounded and military hardware seized. NPFL and ULIMO-K forces join in the fighting.

1996

Alliances within the transitional government move to suppress dissent and squeeze opposition. Under-resourced ECOMOG unable (and unwilling) to prevent serious escalation of hostilities. Heavy fighting in Monrovia leaves hundreds dead, severely undermining the credibility of the transitional government and the Abuja Accord.

January-February

Persistent lack of resources stalls deployment of ECOMOG/ UNOMIL. Sporadic fighting continues within ULIMO, between ULIMO-J and ECOMOG, and between LPC and NPFL. All factions reluctant to proceed with disarmament. Evidence of NPFL-inspired crack-down on independent press.

March

Taylor calls for ECOMOG forces to be placed under the control of the Council of State. The council adopts protocols by which the LNTG is to be termed the the `Government of Liberia', and the Council of State `the collective presidency'. Taylor and Kromah begin referring to their fighters as `government forces'. LNTG commission of inquiry into December violence in Tubmanburg finds against ULIMO-J. ULIMO-J high command removes Johnson as overall leader, but he maintains allegiance of many fighters. Johnson suspended by Council of State from ministerial post in LNTG.

April

In the absence of Boley, the Council of State despatches police-militia to arrest Johnson on murder charges. Heavy fighting breaks out between `government' forces and predominantly Krahn factions. The latter, comprising LPC, AFL and ULIMO-J fighters loosely allied under Johnson, base themselves in the Barclay Training Centre, taking with them and later releasing 600 `human shields'. Violence and intensive looting by all factions leads to estimated 1,500 fatalities and US evacuation of over 2,000 aid workers and foreign nationals. Johnson flown to Accra, Ghana. Independent press offices ransacked and burnt out, allegedly by the NPFL. Thousands of civilians find refuge in US Embassy compound. US convenes the International Contact Group on Liberia (ICGL), an inter-governmental committee of donor countries concerned with overseeing and augmenting ECOWAS peace efforts.

May-July

Militias eventually withdraw from central Monrovia after Council of State orders `government forces' to surrender their positions to ECOMOG. All factions believed to have retained contingency arms and personnel within the city limits. `Congo Defence Force' emerges and engages with ULIMO-J north-east of Monrovia. Cross-border raids by NPFL and ULIMO-K fighters into Cote d'Ivoire and Guinea. ECOMOG remains seriously under- resourced, despite renewed pledges of US support. Thirteen international NGOs resolve to pursue only limited, life-saving operations until security can be assured. Angry protests from Liberian civil groups demand that faction leaders be called to account for the renewed violence.

August

President Abacha assumes ECOWAS chair. An ECOWAS summit in Abuja sets a new timetable for disarmament and announces sanctions against future violators of the Abuja Accord. Sankawulo replaced as Council of State chair by Ms. Ruth Perry, a former senator. Faction leaders pledge their compliance with the new timetable but LNTG remains riven with hostilities. Elections now scheduled for May 30th 1997.

[URL=The Liberian civil war]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NFUht0q775g[/URL]

[URL=civil war in liberia]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vLdZM49KWWU[/URL]

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The Liberian conflict part 2

The Liberian Tragedy

The picture above shows the leaders of the 1980 military coup


The picture on the left is that of Corporal Nelson Toe, the youngest member of the PRC. According to Thomas Quiwonkpa, Toe was the first man who shot President Tolbert on the night of the coup. He was assisted by Thomas Weh Syen. Toe and Weh Syen were both executed on April 14,1981, for allegedly staging a putsch.


The picture above shows soldiers preparing the execution of13 senior members of the Tolbert Administration. The men tied to the electric poles, and facing imminent execution are: (right to left,after the soldier in the white hat) Frank Tolbert, (in dark pants) brother of President Tolbert and President Pro-Temp of the Liberian Senate; Cyril Bright, Minister of Planning and Economic Affairs; C. Cecil Dennis, Jr., Minister of Foreign Affairs; James A.A. Pierre, Chief Justice of Liberia; Richard A. Henries, Speaker of the House of Representatives; and at far left is,Frank Stewart, Director of the Budget.


Facing imminent execution, the agony of death shows in the faces of four of the key leaders of the Tolbert Administration. They are: Richard Henries, Speaker of the House of Representatives; Frank Tolbert, President Pro Tem of the Senate; C.Cecil Dennis, Jr., Minister of Foreign Affairs; and Frank Stewart, Director of the Bureau of the Budget.


The Public Execution


Head of State, Samuel Doe visiting President Reagan in Washington, D.C. to get American support for his regime.


The picture above shows some of the Liberians who took refuge in the Saint Peter's Lutheran Church in Sinkor, Monrovia, during the early days of the Liberian-Civil War. They are waiting on line to get their meal. On Sunday, July 29, 1990, at about 7 PM, over 200 soldiers from the Armed Forces of Liberia (AFL), headed by an infamous Liberian named Charles Julu, invaded the church, murdered 600 innocent Liberian civilians, and wounded 150 others. It is reported that President Samuel Doe stood by and watched as the massacre took place.


Prince Y. Johnson, epitomized all that was deadly about the war. He captured and brutally murdered President Samuel Doe; he cold-bloodily murdered a Liberian who was working for the international relief agency, on grounds that the worker stole and sold some of the food that was rationed for displaced Liberian refugees; and he is reported to have summarily executed some of his own soldiers for raping civilians. Opposing forces reportedly cut and ran when they heard that he was in their vicinity. He was reportedly the judge and the executioner in the areas that he controlled.


Alhaji Kromah, the man on the left, was one of the most cruel and vicious warlords in western Liberia.Thousands of Liberians were murdered by this man and his bloodthirsty organization which he called "United Liberation Movement of Liberia for Democracy." He continues to travel with impunity to the United States and Europe, using funds that he robbed from the dead and the Liberian people. A Moslem and a Mandingo-Liberian, Kromah and his men destroyed hundreds of villages in Lofa County, taking special care to destroy shrines of the Lomas and the Gbandi, whom he considered non-belivers of Islam. Why such a war criminal has been allowed to travel in the free world with impunity, says a lot about the don't-care attitude of the world toward the Liberian people and the seven years of death and suffering that they have endured under killers like Alhaji Kromah. These men who have caused so much pain, suffering, and death on the Liberian people, that the least they deserve is life without parole behind maximum security prisons.


Roosevelt Johnson was one of the most ruthless rebel leaders of the war.

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The Liberian conflict part 3

Rwanda Civil War

No other recent conflict in Africa has taken as high a toll in such a short period of time as the Rwanda genocide, in which between half a million and a million people were massacred. From April to July 1994, extremist political groups organized the massacre, directed primarily at the minority Tutsi ethnic group, but also against those from the Hutu majority who opposed the killings or had been active in the pro-democracy movement. The slaughter ended when rebel forces of the Rwandese Patriotic Front (RPF) overthrew the genocidal government. However, ongoing political tensions, guerrilla warfare and massive refugee movements have continued to sow political instability and humanitarian crises throughout the Great Lakes region, including in neighbouring Burundi and the Democratic Republic of Congo (formerly Zaire).

Rwanda's population consists of three ethnic groups: Hutus (88%), Tutsis (11%), and Twa pygmies (1%). The Republic of Rwanda has been torn apart by ethnic division and a civil war between the majority Hutu and minority Tutsi. An estimated 1 million people were killed within a three month period in 1994. The Tutsi-led Rwanda Patriotic Front was victorious and has formed a new government. Subsequently, many refugees (mostly Hutus) have fled Rwanda to neighboring Zaire (~2 million), Tanzania (~480,000), Burundi (~200,000) and Uganda (~10,000). In addition, another 1 million refugees were believed to be within Rwanda. These refugees have concentrated in huge numbers at barren places with no sanitation, polluted water and little food. These conditions have caused great suffering and mass death.

Rwanda is a very poor country with a market economy; over 90 percent of the population earns its living through subsistence agriculture. The principal export crops are coffee and tea. Per capita Gross National Product is estimated at $210 per year. The massive genocide and war in 1994 resulted in the destruction of much of the country's economic infrastructure, including utilities, roads, and hospitals. The main religions are Roman Catholic (65%), Protestant (9%), and Muslim (1%). The official languages are French and Kinyardwanda with Kiswahili spoken in commercial centers.

The largely Tutsi Rwandan Patriotic Front (RPF), which took power following the civil war and genocide of 1994, is the principal political force and controls the Government of National Unity. President Pasteur Bizimungu and Vice President and Minister of Defense General Paul Kagame both belong to the RPF. The mainly Hutu Republican Democratic Movement retains the office of Prime Minister. Prime Minister Pierre Rwigema runs the Government on a daily basis and is responsible for relations with the National Assembly.

The genocidal militias that massacred Tutsis and moderate Hutus in 1994 continue their campaign of ethnic extermination and have sought to expand their operations beyond the northwest. The insurgents have committed numerous serious human rights abuses, including killings of those perceived as Tutsi survivors of the genocide, and of Hutu officials who opposed their agenda, as well as of religious and humanitarian aid workers. The militias, composed of members of the defeated army, the former Rwandan Armed Forces (ex-FAR) and Interahamwe genocide gangs, regularly attack government offices and public service institutions, such as prisons, clinics, and schools. These actions have increased friction between the security forces and the Hutu population and created insecurity on the roads.

Insurgent militias, which include members of the ex-FAR and Interahamwe gangs and some former refugees, have committed hundreds of killings both for political reasons and in pursuit of their genocidal ideology. They also seek to create panic and undermine confidence in the Government's ability to protect the population. In 1998 insurgents stepped up propaganda efforts, distributing hate literature and newspapers designed to persuade readers of the justness of their cause, their strength against the Government, and the evil intentions of the government's Rwandan Patriotic Army (RPA). The tracts identified anyone who opposed the insurgents' cause as an enemy. Genocide survivors, Tutsi refugees from the Democratic Republic of Congo, Hutu government officials, local Hutu politicians, and those who refused to cooperate with the insurgency all were targeted. By late summer 1998, the RPA appeared to have gained the upper hand against the insurgents. Intense operations by the RPA combined with disillusionment with the insurgency drove thousands of persons who had abandoned their homes to return to the relatively safer areas controlled by the RPA.
Background

According to folklore, Tutsi cattle breeders began arriving in the area from the Horn of Africa in the 15th century and gradually subjugated the Hutu inhabitants. The Tutsis established a monarchy headed by a mwami (king) and a feudal hierarchy of Tutsi nobles and gentry. Through a contract known as ubuhake, the Hutu farmers pledged their services and those of their descendants to a Tutsi lord in return for the loan of cattle and use of pastures and arable land. Thus, the Tutsi reduced the Hutu to virtual serfdom. However, boundaries of race and class became less distinct over the years as some Tutsi declined until they enjoyed few advantages over the Hutu. The first European known to have visited Rwanda was German Count Von Goetzen in 1894. He was followed by missionaries, notably the "White Fathers." In 1899, the mwami submitted to a German protectorate without resistance. Belgian troops from Zaire chased the small number of Germans out of Rwanda in 1915 and took control of the country.

After World War I, the League of Nations mandated Rwanda and its southern neighbor, Burundi, to Belgium as the territory of Ruanda-Urundi. Following World War II, Ruanda-Urundi became a UN trust territory with Belgium as the administrative authority. Reforms instituted by the Belgians in the 1950s encouraged the growth of democratic political institutions but were resisted by the Tutsi traditionalists who saw in them a threat to Tutsi rule. An increasingly restive Hutu population, encouraged by the Belgian military, sparked a revolt in November 1959, resulting in the overthrow of the Tutsi monarchy. Two years later, the Party of the Hutu Emancipation Movement (PARMEHUTU) won an overwhelming victory in a UN-supervised referendum.

During the 1959 revolt and its aftermath, more than 160,000 Tutsis fled to neighboring countries. The PARMEHUTU government, formed as a result of the September 1961 election, was granted internal autonomy by Belgium on January 1, 1962. A June 1962 UN General Assembly resolution terminated the Belgian trusteeship and granted full independence to Rwanda (and Burundi) effective July 1, 1962.

Gregoire Kayibanda, leader of the PARMEHUTU Party, became Rwanda's first elected president, leading a government chosen from the membership of the directly elected unicameral National Assembly. Peaceful negotiation of international problems, social and economic elevation of the masses, and integrated development of Rwanda were the ideals of the Kayibanda regime. Relations with 43 countries, including the United States, were established in the first 10 years. Despite the progress made, inefficiency and corruption began festering in government ministries in the mid-1960s. On July 5, 1973, the military took power under the leadership of Maj. Gen. Juvenal Habyarimana, who dissolved the National Assembly and the PARMEHUTU Party and abolished all political activity.

In 1975, President Habyarimana formed the National Revolutionary Movement for Development (MRND) whose goals were to promote peace, unity, and national development. The movement was organized from the "hillside" to the national level and included elected and appointed officials.

Under MRND aegis, Rwandans went to the polls in December 1978, overwhelmingly endorsed a new constitution, and confirmed President Habyarimana as president. President Habyarimana was re-elected in 1983 and again in 1988, when he was the sole candidate. Responding to public pressure for political reform, President Habyarimana announced in July 1990 his intention to transform Rwanda's one-party state into a multi-party democracy.

On October 1, 1990, Rwandan exiles banded together as the Rwandan Patriotic Front (RPF) and invaded Rwanda from their base in Uganda. The rebel force, composed primarily of ethnic Tutsis, blamed the government for failing to democratize and resolve the problems of some 500,000 Tutsi refugees living in diaspora around the world. The war dragged on for almost two years until a cease-fire accord was signed July 12, 1992, in Arusha, Tanzania, fixing a timetable for an end to the fighting and political talks, leading to a peace accord and power-sharing, and authorizing a neutral military observer group under the auspices of the Organization for African Unity. A cease-fire took effect July 31, 1992, and political talks began August 10, 1992.

On April 6, 1994, the airplane carrying President Habyarimana and the President of Burundi was shot down as it prepared to land at Kigali. Both presidents were killed. As though the shooting down was a signal, military and militia groups began rounding up and killing all Tutsis and political moderates, regardless of their ethnic background.

The prime minister and her 10 Belgian bodyguards were among the first victims. The killing swiftly spread from Kigali to all corners of the country; between April 6 and the beginning of July, a genocide of unprecedented swiftness left up to1 million Tutsis and moderate Hutus dead at the hands of organized bands of militia--Interahamwe. Even ordinary citizens were called on to kill their neighbors by local officials and government-sponsored radio. The president's MRND Party was implicated in organizing many aspects of the genocide.

The RPF battalion stationed in Kigali under the Arusha accords came under attack immediately after the shooting down of the president's plane. The battalion fought its way out of Kigali and joined up with RPF units in the north. The RPF then resumed its invasion, and civil war raged concurrently with the genocide for two months. French forces landed in Goma, Zaire, in June 1994 on a humanitarian mission. They deployed throughout southwest Rwanda in an area they called "Zone Turquoise," quelling the genocide and stopping the fighting there. The Rwandan army was quickly defeated by the RPF and fled across the border to Zaire followed by some 2 million refugees who fled to Zaire, Tanzania, and Burundi. The RPF took Kigali on July 4, 1994, and the war ended on July 16, 1994. The RPF took control of a country ravaged by war and genocide. Up to 800,000 had been murdered, another 2 million or so had fled, and another million or so were displaced internally.

The international community responded with one of the largest humanitarian relief efforts ever mounted. The U.S. was one of the largest contributors. The UN peacekeeping operation, UNAMIR, was drawn down during the fighting but brought back up to strength after the RPF victory. UNAMIR remained in Rwanda until March 8, 1996.

Following an uprising by the ethnic Tutsi Banyamulenge people in Eastern Zaire in October 1996, a huge movement of refugees began which brought over 600,000 back to Rwanda in the last two weeks of November. This massive repatriation was followed at the end of December 1996 by the return of another 500,000 from Tanzania, again in a huge, spontaneous wave. Less than 100,000 Rwandans were estimated to remain outside of Rwanda in late 1997, and they were thought to be the remnants of the defeated army of the the former genocidal government and its allies in the civilian militias known as Interahamwe.

With the return of the refugees, a new chapter in Rwandan history began. The government began the long-awaited genocide trials, which got off to an uncertain start in the closing days of 1996 and inched forward in 1997.

Rwanda Civil War part 2
February 11-February 14, 1993, Rwanda --- Rwandan Patriotic Front leader Paul Kagame tours a rural area with his troops. The Front has been waging a civil war in Rwanda since 1994

Rwanda Genocide

Rwanda Genocide In Pictures